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Beach Fee
updated: Jul 12, 2012, 9:02 AM

By Edhat Subscriber

The Santa Barbara County Supervisors may revisit the proposal to charge beach access fees at Guadalupe , Goleta , Hendry's , Summerland and Rincon beaches. If you oppose the idea of paying for a walk on the beach , let your supervisor know about it . And by all means attend any hearings as they are scheduled.

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 296663	2012-07-12 09:13 AM
NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! Come on now, that would be so ludicrous :(
COMMENT 296676	2012-07-12 09:32 AM
Hey, gotta pay those county pension benefits somehow!
COMMENT 296678	2012-07-12 09:33 AM
The Supids have no problem raising fees, yet they can't bear to cut any programs for the homeless or eliminate programs that are duplicated at the federal level, like the County Veterans' Benefits Coordinators. Seems to me that the Supids should trim so more fat before asking us to pay more.
COMMENT 296679P	2012-07-12 09:33 AM
I have no problem with paying a beach fee as long as the money is used at the facility that collects the fee. Fat chance of that happening...
COMMENT 296693P	2012-07-12 09:47 AM
I'll pay a fee if the homeless who frequent these areas also have to pay.
COMMENT 296700	2012-07-12 09:53 AM
Fees fees and more fees. Soon you'll have to pay a fee to walk on the sidwalk.
COMMENT 296703	2012-07-12 09:56 AM
Let's take funding out of of the tourist room tax and call it a day. The cost/hassle for collecting minor fees isn't worth it and would hurt business at The Boathouse.
COMMENT 296704	2012-07-12 09:57 AM
We do pay to walk on public sidewalks. And to visit the county-maintained beaches. That's what taxes are. Except that no one wants to pay taxes anymore, hence, the "fees."
COMMENT 296707	2012-07-12 10:00 AM
Problem is at Hendry's if you want to go to the restaurant there's never any place to park. Is that fair to them? I'm all for a beach fee there. You cant come and expect to park all day for free, come on. Maybe 90 minutes free like down at Leadbetter, but not all day.
COMMENT 296714	2012-07-12 10:08 AM
Thanks 704, someone needs to say that.
COMMENT 296715	2012-07-12 10:09 AM
It's about time they charge for beach access. We need to install Toll Booths on the Freeways too!
COMMENT 296742	2012-07-12 10:48 AM
Next week we fly to visit family at the beach in Southern New Jersey. They have charged a fee to get on the beach for over 35 years there. The cost is $5 per day, or $10 per week, or $25 per season. They hire high school / college kids to walk around the beach and check that you are wearing your tag. I don't have a problem with it as long as the fees truly go towards beach services. But the supes will never pull the trigger on this one because of the backlash they will get.
COMMENT 296744	2012-07-12 10:50 AM
I'd rather see a residential City street parking permiting program. That would eliminate all the campers that ruin the city streets, and also gain money by selling residential permits to people who park on the street. Ticketing revenue would also then go up. Beach parking fees will happen soon, maybe not in the next year or so, but next 5 years without a doubt, you'll have to pay to park basically anywhere near the sand in SB county/ City. I wouldn't be surprised if popular trails like Tunnel/Inspiration also get meters, or something similar. PAY UP! How else can we pay for all of our City/County employees, and their union fueled perks.
COMMENT 296749	2012-07-12 10:55 AM
The County has a budget of $4 million to pay for the salaries and expenses of the 3 shelters they have for homeless dogs in the County. They get the food for free, and pay about $200K/yr in medical expenses. The rest is for the salaries and benefits and pensions costs of the employees that average $90K/yr. And the people that work the hardest, the kennel attendants get paid the least, or are often hired as temporary employees that don't get any benefits at all! Does it sound like the County needs to start charging fees at the beach parks, or learn how to run the shelters more efficiently?
COMMENT 296754	2012-07-12 11:00 AM
Shouldn't this be referred to as a beach access PARKING fee? Paying to park at a beach access spot is different than paying to use/access the beach. It might seem more or less synonymous, but I shrug at the first while the second makes me feel a bit of civil disobedience coming on. So are we talking about ACCESS, or parking?
SBSWEETPEA	2012-07-12 11:00 AM
NO! NO! NO!
COMMENT 296759	2012-07-12 11:10 AM
I'm all for beach parking fees like the City has down at the waterfront, self pay systems, but keep the money to service the parks and not put it in the general fund.
COMMENT 296761	2012-07-12 11:12 AM
As a surfer I will fight that. In general they've ignored the beaches unless its for a campaign photo op. To charge for parking at Rincon would make it just a rich man's beach. Ain't gonna happen, I'm sure every surfer I know agrees.
COMMENT 296779	2012-07-12 12:02 PM
teh neighbors around the beaches that would begin charging fees are going to love all the cars parking in front of their house, especially at The Pit...
COMMENT 296784	2012-07-12 12:29 PM
If they're going to charge for parking then they should have public transportation to and from those spots.
COMMENT 296790P	2012-07-12 12:51 PM
Let's see. If I want to shop downtown, I'm supposed to pay for parking. If I want to go to the beach, they want me to pay for parking. I live in Santa Barbara -- where do I spend my money? Goleta. Where I don't have to pay to park.
COMMENT 296802P	2012-07-12 01:23 PM
ahh interesting that the anti-shelter trolls have invaded another string of comments..............a more RELEVANT correlation would be to CHARGE A FEE for turning in an unadoptable pet.
COMMENT 296817	2012-07-12 02:07 PM
I vote we take a vote of how many citizens want this! . None...Why don't Santa Barbara County Supervisors take a paycut instead. I'll Vote for that or remove one of them from the council. That would make up for the fees at the beach. Let them give up there leased vehicles we pay for...
COMMENT 296819	2012-07-12 02:13 PM
Instead of calling it a tax, how about we just call it a penalty?
COMMENT 296823	2012-07-12 02:18 PM
Parking fees are fine...access fees are unacceptable...
COMMENT 296827	2012-07-12 02:39 PM
Really come on the beach should be a free place to go and if we have to pay then please keep the bathrooms clean and TP in them would be good. And do the people with dogs have to pay extra because they don't always pick up the dog poop so would the money for parking cover this to clean the beach?? If you charged people would just walk in.
COMMENT 296829	2012-07-12 02:43 PM
I'll just put my bike in my truck and park nearby and ride in, or ride from home. Paying for parking is a joke
COMMENT 296837	2012-07-12 03:09 PM
As an SB local, born and raised, and beach-goer for over 50 years, I will fight this beach parking fee to the bitter end. We already have that nasty little pay for parking system set up at East Beach and Leadbetter. I have got lots of good exercise walking from blocks away to avoid paying for parking at the beach. 90 minutes for street parking is good at West Beach/Cabrillo Blvd; the turn over rate there is ideal. For Hendry's, Rincon, Goleta and Summerland beaches---who the heck needs to be punished for wanting to spend hours walking on or surfing at the beach? Paying for parking at the beach is tantamount to charging us for being healthy, enjoying our environs and keeping our kids and dogs happy. The fallout from charging for parking would be enormous. Tourists don't mind paying, but we who live here will not suffer this extortion.
COMMENT 296851	2012-07-12 03:33 PM
Finally, a non violent way to solve Rincon's crowds! Now you just gotta go after the bikers and charge for the bike lane!
COMMENT 296860	2012-07-12 04:00 PM
802P: A fee *is* charged for turning in pets.
COMMENT 296873	2012-07-12 04:36 PM
I pay my taxes fair and square, that money should be used for beach maintenance. Do not add a beach fee. Figure out how to balance your books, hire an accountant or something. No fees.
COMMENT 296874P	2012-07-12 04:37 PM
This is the same Board of Supervisors that refused (or at least Wolf and Gray) refused to put Supe. Lavagnino's proposed county bed tax 2% increase on the ballot. If there are beach parking fees, we can thank those two supervisors, especially Wolf who should have known better, for it.
COMMENT 296910	2012-07-12 06:05 PM
They also need the money to finish the boondoggle lookout behind the Boathouse. Doomed from the start this unfinished work has been rusting and will not last long once finished (if ever). Meanwhile it has prevented public access for years. You thought Caltrans was bad, at least they use epoxy coated rebar and finish the job. How much have we already paid for this disaster? Fees @ work...not!
COMMENT 296970P	2012-07-12 10:53 PM
Wow! There are some nasty comments here. The supervisors will enact this fee. At first, they will say it is a user fee that will be used at Hendry's for whatever. That will soon fall behind the wayside and the money will go into the general fund. Who elects these folks?
COMMENT 296986	2012-07-13 07:09 AM
Ha ha ha ha! The Coastal Commssion and the County find ways to FORCE beachfront homeowners to provide "Coastal Access" through their property for free and now the County is limiting access to "their" beach property to only those who can afford it.
COMMENT 296992	2012-07-13 07:30 AM
Why do so many feel we have an unalienable right to park free of charge our gas guzzling, oil dripping, smog belching vehicles of steel on expensive to build & maintain beach parking lots? Take a bus, ride a bike...personal beach entry/access will always be free.
COMMENT 296996	2012-07-13 07:47 AM
754 it is an access fee! If you can't park at Rincon or Hendrys or Goleta beach, how are you going to get there? Someone suggested a bus, but is there a bus that goes to Rincon? Don't think so... And anytime you want to take a business lunch to Beachside... Let's all get on the ol MTD, CEO and all...? Get real.
LOLA	2012-07-13 08:21 AM
This town is expensive. Don't take away the only thing working class families can actually still do for free. The beach should be a place for all to enjoy, not just those who can afford it. PLEASE!
COMMENT 297025	2012-07-13 08:34 AM
Yes, I spend my shopping $ in other cities,not here.All we have to purchase is T-shirts,and old merchandise.
COMMENT 297056	2012-07-13 09:33 AM
Yea, OK, how 'bout adding chainlink fences with concertina wire and associated gates to keep out non-payers. Also will need to initiate neighborhood resident stickers to preserve the locals' street parking which the free-loading beach-goers, who don't want to pay to park, will intrude upon. Las Superistas could charge for the stickers...ahhh, more "fees"! But wait, they will need to hire more staff to "administer" all of this...fees in might just be enough to pay for salaries out. What a country! Another idea: They could install a series of scales at Hendry's. Dogs (and owners) would be required to use the coin operated devices (credit cards accepted) to weigh themselves upon entering and then, again, when they leave. The difference in weight would be assumed to be due to poop left on the beach. The scale would calculate the per-pound charge which would have to be paid before you could leave. Probably would need an on-site monitor dude to enforce compliance.
ARCHIE	2012-07-13 10:18 AM
I've lived here for over 30 years and so was around when beach parking was free. Comments like the ones posted here were issued then too. Did no good whatsoever. What will make a difference to these Supervisors?
COMMENT 297115P	2012-07-13 10:51 AM
FYI- this is being pushed hard by the new batch of out-of-town executives running parks
COMMENT 297308P	2012-07-13 05:51 PM
Complete the survey County Parks has posted here- also note public meetings http://www.countyofsb.org/parks/parks01.aspx?id=40012

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